Bahraini protester dies at the hands of regime forces

An anti-government protester in Bahrain has died at the hands of the regime forces as deadly crackdown on peaceful demonstrations continues in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom.

Bahrain’s main opposition group, al-Wefaq, said on Wednesday that Jafar Sadiq al-Dirazi has died in jail due to torture

and lack of medical treatment.

Reports say the man, from the town of Daih near the capital Manama, was suffering from anemia. He spent more than a month in prison.

Al-Wefaq earlier this week urged the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as the Red Cross to look into the situation in the Dry Dock prison, located on the island of Muharraq. Around 500 prisoners are on hunger strike in the notorious prison protesting against the mistreatment of the inmates. At least 3,000 detainees including women and children are being reportedly held in the Dry Dock prison.

The Bahraini regime’s human rights record has come under scrutiny over its handling of anti-regime protests that erupted across the country in early 2011.Bahraini people initially demanded political reform and a constitutional monarchy, a demand that later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al Khalifa family following its brutal crackdown on popular protests.Manama also called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring states. Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others arrested in the clampdown.Earlier this month, Amnesty International censured Bahrain’s “relentless repression” of anti-regime protesters, saying the regime’s security forces have “repeatedly” used “excessive force to quash anti-government protests.”On February 14, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also called on the Manama regime to respect its “international human rights obligations” in dealing with peaceful protests in the country.